MidwestPX

I may try loading a few with an intentionally tighter crimp to try to quantify the impact of the crimp. But man, this is a big pressure difference. IIRC, the PMC was a couple points heavier on average than the S&B. I remember it was pretty close so I wrote it off as inconsequential. Equal parts morbid curiosity and practicality. I'd like to know how hard I can push them first so I don't unnecessarily leave velocity on the table. I'm over Hornady book max of 44.0gr at 44.5gr but well under Hodgdon max of 46.0gr. Now THIS, I did not think of. I didn't know Winchester LRPs are hottest. This could be the issue. I may just unprime a few PMC cases and reprime with Winchester to suss this out a little more. I just have to remember to not be a moron and a) leave my good chronograph at home and b) not shoot the backup that I keep at the range.

All my brass is .308 Win, not 7.62 NATO so that shouldn't be an issue. You do propose something that's caught my interest though. I'm going to load some PMC brass with Winchester primers. I loaded 45.2, 45.6 and 46.0 charges with PMC/CCI because the 45.2 charge that blew a primer was S&B/Winchester and I'm curious if I can push higher with the PMC/CCI combo. However, I'm also going to load some PMC/Winchester to see if you're on to something with the mil vs. commercial primers. Edit: Scratch that...I don't have any unprimed PMC to play with. Nuts. The S&B just may get relegated to plinking use.

I've been doing some load development with .308 and ran through some test charges in .4 grain increments. I'm working with two different headstamps and two different primers because the S&B brass I have won't accept CCI primers (undersized primer pocket and #34 primers have thicker walls than normal making them a little tougher to squeeze into the pocket). At 45.2 grains, I blow a primer so I back down the charge weight and load a batch of five to double check. Since I have two case/primer combinations, I decide to load five of each in case there's any variation resulting in significantly different pressures. At this point, I figure this is all academic since I can't imagine a case and primer change making an appreciable difference. What I loaded: 44.5gr H4895 (dialed down from 45.2 since that blew a primer and my powder measure is +/- .2gr) 155gr AMAX 2.800" COAL Brass used: 5 - PMC with CCI #34 primers 5 - S&B with Winchester LR primers The five PMC rounds all fired without issue. Firing pin strikes were slightly cratered, otherwise no signs of pressure. The five S&B were another story. Two blew primers. The remaining three had completely flattened primers. I don't have any velocity data because I managed to shoot my chronograph (left my Magnetospeed at home like an idiot...) on the first round. I find it hard to believe that a case and primer switch caused such a drastic change in pressure but I'm always learning. Can anyone shed some light on just what the hell happened?

We did a walk back drill with him out to 125 yards. Where he hit a steel IPSC with a Glock. Upside down (the gun, not LAV).

I think the only thing I'll regret is having to buy my kids more guns as they grow older and gain proficiency as well as love of the sport. Hopefully, one day, my kids and I can hunt as well as compete together.

I have a three year old. I introduced her to firearms at about 18 months. We started with naming parts on an AR. She can now look at any rifle or shotgun and name the common parts such as the stock, grip, barrel, trigger, etc. We'll start on handguns soon. I can't bring a rifle into a room with her without her running over and demanding to point out parts. She'll now ask me where a part is and if I'm wrong, she'll correct me. My goal is to teach her anatomy first. Then I'll teach her function. If she understands what each part is and what it does, I'm hoping it will lay a solid foundation for her education in safe firearms handling and why she needs to respect firearms. As far as actual shooting, I plan to start her around four or five, depending on her maturity, with a Cricket .22LR. She'll move on to my manual action 10/22 and then graduate to a semi-auto 10/22. I don't have a timetable in mind for moving her from one rifle to another as I plan to move her up depending on her maturity and skill. I'm honestly not worried about my kids and guns. I'm far more concerned with other people's children and the firearm education (or lack thereof) they have or have not received. If one day Emma comes to me and says, "So and so wanted to show me her/his dad's guns but I left because there wasn't an adult." I'll know I did right.

If I sold a full size M&P9 for $430, I'd lose about $35 after free shipping and CC fees. Dealers buying in buying groups might break even and hope to cost average out a free gun or two to make $400 on a 10 gun buy-in. 10%. My favorite saying about the gun industry is, "How do you make a small fortune selling guns? Start with a large one."

Gross margin on new, run-of-the-mill guns is 6-10%. The bigger stores that are in buying groups might get another 2-5% but new guns are really terrible for making money. Harder to get guns like CMR30s bring more money because they aren't available in huge numbers and there isn't a race to the bottom. Manufacturer MAPs (outside of Glock) are also loosely enforced which doesn't help matters.

Only 300 rounds, eh? You shouldn't be experiencing gas port erosion that quickly. But from the sounds of it, you changed the action spring? My money's on you having a tired or out of spec action spring. Change that out and see what happens.

#1: Are you using a metal mag? One of the most insidious failures with metal mags is feedlip separation which results in feeding issues. Hard/impossible to detect without experiencing. #2: Hammer spring might be too light. Try swapping it out. #3: Did you change ammo? A sudden change in ejection pattern, especially going from perfect ejection to overgassed is odd indeed.

I have an Adams kit that was made for the original Mega MTS monolithic upper. I used it to build something different for myself, the same reason you are interested in them. It's a good gun but I hardly ever shoot it because the initial novelty of it being something different wore off. I also have an Osprey kit that's going on an open bolt full-auto only AR I've been working on. I chose the Osprey kit over the AA because I think it's a better kit in general. I don't hate on people who want to try something different. It's your money and your time and you may have a different outcome than I did and may really like your piston kit and if you do, more power to you.

I have a special punch that I made just for those damn pins. I took a regular punch and cut it down. This allows me to hit it with a ton of force without bending it. Maybe try that?

The only piston AR-type rifles I personally like are the suppressed machine guns.

One question: Why?

I was doing load development for some .308 specialty rounds. Then I mass produced them

Did you chronograph them to see how fast they were moving?

I just credited the difference to your card. You're within seven calendar days so eligible for a price adjustment. We got in a couple shipments of BCGs at a discount today hence the sale. Want another?

While supplies last, take your pick of either a WMD Guns NiB-X AR15 BCG or a Fail Zero NiB AR15 BCG for $150 shipped!

I've used a lot of Unique. I've switched to Blue Dot though. I like it for 10mm but it also works decently in my experience for .45 and 9mm. The only thing I didn't like about Unique was I thought it was pretty dirty.

This.

Oh, I forgot the lower receiver was too thin. The FCG pins stuck out about 1/32" on both sides.

He was into it for $20. I charged him $85 for parts and $75 for labor (two hours at half shop rate since his wife watches my kid during the day). $125 should get his other upper running properly so not too bad.

Bumping this because I just had another .308 AR come through to be fixed for being overgassed but this one takes the cake. It was quite the hot mess. 1. Overgassed so badly, the BCG would fly back with such velocity, it would knock the charging handle loose. This rifle had a 16" barrel with a carbine length gas system. Fixed with an adjustable gas key with the gas nearly completely shut off. If the customer wants to shoot a hotter load than the Remington ammo he bought, he'll need to swap out the receiver extension with one from LMT so I can use AR15 buffers and drop a H3 or heavier in. If you take anything away from this post, it's to not buy a 16" .308 barrel with a carbine length gas system. 2. Tried to fix the overgassed situation originally with one of my house-branded adjustable gas blocks but discovered the gas seat OD was 0.758" and not 0.750" as it was supposed to be. That would explain why a YHM clamp-on gas block was used. Oh and the gas block was clearly crooked as well as not against the shoulder (about a 1/16" gap). 3. Timney FCG wouldn't stay put. If you rested the rifle on its side, the hammer and trigger pins would drop out. Turns out whoever built this rifle (it was won at a raffle) removed the screws that are used to keep upward pressure on the pins. Solved with KNS anti-rotation pins. 4. Castle nut worked loose after three rounds. Torqued and staked. 5. General condition of the parts would suggest the parts were either demo/sample parts or used parts. For a supposedly brand new gun with 15 rounds fired by the current owner, it sure had a lot of wear. Bolt lugs were damaged (exposed metal) and cerakote on the carrier (yes, the builder cerakoted the carrier...) was worn on the races. 6. "Matched" billet receiver set had a substantial gap between upper and lower at the rear. I suspect this was a blem receiver set. 7. Flash hider was literally finger tight. I threw a crush washer on and torqued it down. The customer had a second upper that came with the rifle, this one with a 24" bull barrel. The carrier was out of spec and would bind when trying to get it in battery. Fixed it with a new carrier. I didn't have time to figure out where exactly it was binding but my guess would be the Cerakote was a little thick on this one.

For reference: http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php/topic/72288-took-the-big-blue-plunge/ Between machine gun fodder .223 and specialty .308, I broke even on my reloading setup tonight. Surprisingly, it took less than a year!

But to confuse thing, the PWS FSC series of muzzle devices not only lists flash hiding capability in the description but also in the name (Flash Suppressing Compensator). Yet they have a letter from the ATF that says it's not a flash hider and I've seen pictures of many builds on this forum that use an FSC. Sigh, gotta love the ambiguity and inconsistency generated by stupid gun laws.